No signal? Check your aerial!

Hundreds of people were left without television after brash burglars snatched the aerials from the top of a blocks of flats.

Three properties in Brighton and Hove have had the aerials, electrical boxes and cabling stolen from their rooftops leaving residents with nothing but static on their sets.

St James House in High Street was hit in the early hours of May 2, Clarendon House in Hove sometime between May 2 and May 6, and Highcroft Lodge, Hove, overnight on May 5 to May 6.

John Bolingbrok, a leaseholder at Highcroft Lodge, said: “You would have thought someone would have seen or heard something, the aerial and box cannot be small.

“To get all that stuff in the lift or get it down the fire escape cannot have been easy. It is not usual seeing someone working around carrying a load of electrical and TV gear.

“My 91-year-old mum lives in Highcroft and she was left without anything to watch – the TV is her lifeline.”

Mr Bolingbrok, 65, said he suspects the burglars to have got in through the front door as it had gone unrepaired for the three weeks.

A spokeswoman for Brighton and Hove City Council said: “The crime has been reported to the police and they are assisting us with our enquiries and advising us on further security measures.

“We are working as fast as we can to resolve the situation and works have already started.

“We will have new systems up and running by this weekend and will write to all residents to apologise for the inconvenience and explain what has happened.

“We do not have a report that there is a fault with the main entrance door at Highcroft Lodge, but we are checking it out and will carry out an inspection and repair as necessary.

“The council confirmed yesterday the aerials have now been replaced and the systems are up and running.

A spokesman for Sussex Police said: “The council has reported the theft of three TV aerials and connected equipment from roofs of their properties at, St James House, High St, Brighton in the early hours of May 2, Clarendon House, Hove, sometime between May 2 and May 6 and Highcroft Lodge, Hove, overnight on 5 to 6 May.”